Spreader for fertilizer, seeds, and the like having removable hopper bottom portion



YMarch 10, 1953 E. s. GANDRUD 22,630,945

SPREADER FOR F'ERTILIZER, SEEDS AND THE LIKE HAVING REMOVABLE HOPPER BOTTOM PORTION March 10, 1953 E. s. GANDRUD SPREADEE FOR EERTILTZERY, sEEns. AND THE LIKE HAVING REMovABLE HOPPER BoTToM PORTION Filed Sept. 9, 1946 2 Sl-IEETS-SHEET 2 ZZ 30 5/ j/ 2z 50 3 .34 JZ 30 F/gm 3. 25 /025 zo y www Patented Mar. 10, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPREADER FOR. FERTILIZER, SEEDS, AND THE LIKE HAVING REMOVABLE HOPPER BOTTOM PORTION 2 Claims. l

My present invention provides a simple and highly eicient machine for broadcasting and evenly distributing dry granular fertilizer, seeds, and the like, and is in the nature ci an improvement upon the structure of my Patent 2,350,107.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a hopper with a removable bottom which can be removed or separated from the remaining mechanism with a minimum amount of time and eiort in order to facilitate replacement or repair thereof and while the main hopper structure is supported on its ground engaging wheels.

Other features of the machine herein disclosed are claimed in a divisional application filed by me on August 1, 1952, under Serial No. 302,205.

The above and still further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views:

Fig. 1 is a View in perspective showing the improved spreader looking at the same from the front toward the rear;

Fig. 2 is a View partly in vertical section and partly in front elevation taken substantially on` the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, someparts being broken away;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2, some parts being broken away;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 'I 'I of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary view in perspective, some parts being sect'oned on the line 8 8 of Fig. 2, and some parts being removed.

My spreader involves a main open bottom hopper or receptacle section I having end Walls 2, front and rear walls 3 and 4, respectively, an intermediate wall 5, and a U-shaped supplemene tal hopper bottom section 6. The front and rear Walls 3 and 4, at the lower edges of the open y bottom section 6 and are separably secured there` to by nut-eouioped bolts or the like 9. At its ends, Vthe hopper bottom Bis provided with end wall bearing plates I0 which are secured to the end walls 2 of the main hopper section by means of bolts Il. It will be seen in Fig. 4 that the end walls 2 of the main hopper section extend downwardly to adjacent the flanges 'I of the front and rear walls 3 and 4, and that the bearing plates I0 of the hopper bottom section 6 are provided with upwardly extending anges I2 that engage the outer side of the end walls 2, and with a flat shelf or shoulder I3 which engages the bottom edge portion of the end walls 2. At its top, the main hopper I is reinforced by angle irons I4 and is provided with a removable cover I5.

Axially aligned with openings I0 in the end wall bearing plates I0 of the supplemental bottom hopper section 6 are wheel supporting trunnions i5. These trunnions I6 have plate-like anges I'I rigidly secured to the lower end portions of the end walls 2 of the hopper section I by threaded bolts I'I' so as to extend below said end walls and provide a supplemental bottom section receiving space between said trunnions and below the open bottom of the main hopper section.

The spreader is mounted on a pair of axiallyspaced ground engaging wheels I8 which may be of any suitable form, but, as shown, are provided with hubs I9 journalled on the respective trunnions I6 and provided at their inner ends with outstanding flanges 20. The iianges 20 are engaged by divided retaining plates 2| that permit free rotation of the wheels but hold the same against axial displacement from their respective trunnions. It will be seen, particularly in Figs. 4 and- 5, that the bolts II pass through the retaining plates 2I. the ange I1, and the upwardly extended ange I2 of the bearing plate Il) to effectively secure the same to the end wall 2.

At its transversely central portion, the hopper I is divided by the intermediate wall 5 into two compartments. Agitator shafts 22 that are preferably tubular, are, at their inner ends, telescoped into and journalled within a seat formed in the lower portion of the intermediate Wall 5. AXially aligned with the agitator shafts 22 and journalled in the openings I0 of the bearing plates I0 are wheel-driven stub shafts 23. These shafts 23, as shown, are tubular and are provided with diametrically reduced portions 24 shown as formed by a short shaft section rigidly secured therein by suitable means, such as a pin 25. At their outer ends, the wheel-driven stub shafts 23 are provided with diametrically projecting pins 26 that lengage notches 2'! in the wheel hubs I9 and cause the wheels I8 to drive the said stu-b shafts.

The reduced portions 24 of the stub shafts 23 are telescoped into the outer ends of the respective tubular shafts 22 and are connected thereto for rotation therewith by suitable detachable means, such as bolts or pins 28. On the reduced end portions 24 of the stub shafts 23 are spacing washers 29 that are normally engaged between the outer ends of the agitator shafts 22 and the inner faces of the bearing plates I0. These spacing washers 29 are of such width that when applied, as shown in F'ig. 4, they will hold the inner ends of the agitator shafts seated in the intermediate Wall 5. i

The agitator shafts 22 carry circumferentiallyspaced longitudinally-extended agitator bars or rods 30. The agitator rods 33 are spaced from their respective shafts 22, but secured thereto at their ends by spacing rings 3 I. The agitator rods 36 are arranged to run in close engagement, but always out of contact with the bottom of the removable portion 6.

A valve-acting gate 32 ts against the concave' bottom 6 of the hopper and is provided with diamond-shaped discharge passages 33 that correspond in form and spacing to discharge passages 34 in the bottom 6 and are adapted to be movedv more or less into registration with the discharge passages 34 of the bottom 5 or to be moved entirely out of registration therewith. The upper edges of the valve-acting gate 32 are reinforced by angle bars 35 and 36 rigidly secured thereto by welding, riveting, or otherwise. A scatter rod 31 is located directly below the discharge passages of the hopper bottom 6 and the gate 32 and is supported by hanger brackets 38 bolted to the angle bars 35 and 36.

At its ends, the angle bar 36 is provided With lugs 39 and 40 which are bored to slidably and rotatively engage hinge pins 4I.` These hinge pins-4I are threaded at one end and are secured by nuts 42 to brackets 43 laterally extending from the bearing plates I0, see particularly Figs. 2, 5, 6 and 8. Hinge pins 4I are axially aligned,

and pivotally and slidably support the gate 32 at one side thereof. At its other side, the gate 32 is supported and held in close engagement with the hopper bottom 6 by a suspended link chain 44 anchored at its other end to the angle bar I4, and removably secured at its lower end to the angle bar 35, all as fully disclosed in my prior Patent 2,350,107. By the means just described, the gate 32 will be normally held close contact with the bottom of the hopper and the suspending chain 44 will swing and permit sliding adjustments of said gate.

Rigidly secured to the frontwall 3 of the hopper I and reinforcing the same is a heavy flat metal bar 45 to the intermediate portion of which latter is rigidly secured lugs or brackets 46 and 41.

For shifting of the valve-acting gate 32, there is provided a shift lever 48 pivoted at 49 to the lugs 41. The lower end of this lever 48 engages between lugs 56 rigidly secured to the bar 36 of the gate 32 as best shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The upper end of the shift lever 48 is formed to Drovide a cross bar 5I extending longitudinally of the hopper. A pair of cables 52 have one end each thereof fastened to respective ends of the cross bar 5I and pass over pulleys 53 secured near the top of the front wall 3 of the hopper from whence said cables 52 extend forwardly to a tractor or other pulling means, not shown. With this arrangement, the operator may shift the gate 32 t0 start or stop flow of material from the hopper without having to stop forward travel of the spreader or leaving his seat on the tractor.

For controlling the limits to which the ow of material can be regulated, that is, for determining the size of the openings in the bottom of the hopper, I provide novel means as follows: an upwardly opening slot 54 in the lug 40 of the gate 32 is adapted to receive an adjustable spacing device comprising a headed bolt 55, relatively thick spacing washers 56, relatively thin spacing Washers 51, and locking nuts 58 and 59. As seen in Figs. 2 and 6, the head of the bolt 55, when the hopper bottom is open for delivery of material therethrough, rests against the bracket 43. The size of the openings in the hopper bottom formed by the overlapping ydial mond-shaped passages 33 and 34 is determined by the number of washers 56 and 51 on the bolt 55 between the lug 40 and the nut 5B. In other words, the length of each of the openings in the bottom of the hopper is identical to the combined thickness of the washers between the lug 46 and the nut 5B. It is obvious that when negrained material is fed through the hopper bottom that finer adjustment of the openings in the bottom is necessary; hence, the reason for the relatively thin washers 51. The nut 59 is soldered or otherwise rigidly secured to the end of the threaded bolt 55 for convenience in handling and tightening the device upon the machine. Adjustment is made merely by loosening the nut 58, bodily lifting the whole device from the slot 54, retaining the necessary number of washers adjacent the nut 58, reinserting the `device into the slot 54 and tightening of the nut 58. This arrangement forms at once a positive stop and a visual gage.

The spreader is adapted to be pulled or pushed by any suitable means, but, as shown, is adapted to be connected to a tractor or other vehicle and pulled forward through a draw bar 60, the rear end of which, by a bolt 6|, is attached to the lugs 46 and 41 of the reinforcing bar 45, The draw bar 60 is further connected to the hopper I by oblique braced angles or bars 62 and a brace bar or strap 63. The outer ends of the braces 62 are shown as attached to the flanges I1 of the trunnons I6, and the upper end of the strap 63 is shown as attached to the front wall 3 of the hopper I near the top or adjacent the top thereof.

It has been found that foreign matter, such as a sharp stone inadvertently admitted to the hopper, will, when reaching the agitator, be rubbed against the hopper bottom with enough force to damage the bottom to the extent that sliding action of the gate 32 is prevented, or one or more of the openings in the bottom 6 may be gouged out of shape resulting in an uneven flow of material from the hopper. When this occurs, it is often impossible to repair the damage, so that anew hopper and sliding gage is required. My present invention, in providing a removable hopper bottom and gate assembly, makes a repair to the hopper a relatively inexpensive and easily accomplished operation.

To remove the hopper bottom and gate, the bolts or pins 28 are removed from the agitator shaft 22. The stub shafts 23 are then withdrawn and the washers 29 lifted out of the hopper. The agitators may then be also removed from the hopper. Next, the removable lower end of the chain 44 is disengaged from the sliding gate 32 and the nut-equipped bolts S removed from the flanges 1 and 8. The bolts il are then removed allowing the hopper bottom 6, and the plate Hi, and gate 32 to drop away and a new bottom assembly to be applied. It will be noted, that during this time, the main hopper section I is supported by the ground engaging Wheels I8 on the trunnions I5 through the flange il and bolts Il' threaded into the end Walls 2 of said hopper section.

The spreading operation of the machine is identical to the spreader of my prior Patent 2,350,107 and has been fully described therein.

While I have disclosed a preferred or commercial form of my improved machine, it will be understood that various modications and adaptations of the machine may be made all within the scope of the invention here disclosed and dened in the claims.

What I claim is:

l. In a machine for distributing granular materials, a horizontally elongated main hopper section having connected front, rear and end Walls and an open bottom, cylindrical trunnions disposed below said open bottom and connected to the lower end portions of said end walls with their axes aligned, thereby providing a supplemental bottom section receiving space between said trunnions and below the open bottom of the main hopper section, ground engaging wheels rotatably mounted on said trunnions outwardly of said end walls, a supplemental bottom hopper section having iront, rear and end walls and a perforated bottom Wall removably disposed within said space, means at the juncture of the main and supplemental sections for rigidly and separably securing said sections together With the respective lower and upper edges of the front, rear and end walls thereof in adjacency, an elongated rotary agitator located in the bottom hopper section, stub shaft members detachably connected at their opposite ends to said ground wheels and said rotary agitator respectively and being rotatably and slidably supported intermediate their ends in apertures in the end walls of said bottom hopper section, whereby upon release of said securing means and the inner ends of said stub shafts from said agitator and axial displacement thereof through the apertures in said end walls, said hopper bottom section may be readily removed from said space while the main hopper section is supported on said ground engaging wheels.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein the end walls of the supplemental bottom hopper section comprise bearing members rotatably receiving the intermediate portions of the stub shaft members.

EBENHARD- S. GANDRUD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 35,636 'I'homas June 17, 1862 285,711 Watkins Sept. 25, 1883 348,755 Mackey Sept. 7, 1886 1,294,512 Michaud Feb. 18, 1919 1,426,671 Printz Aug. 22, 1922 1,466,398 Holadia Aug. 28, 1923 1,491,100 Hoke Apr. 22, 1924 1,609,643 Daly Dec. 7, 1926 2,190,863 Dance Feb. 20, 1940 2,334,376 Bauer Nov. 16, 1943 2,350,107 Gandrud May 30, 1944 2,533,386 Masters Dec. 12, 1950 2,541,008 Stahmer Feb. 6, 1951 

